Personnel: Thurston Moore (vocals, guitar); Beck Hansen (vocals, synthesizer); Mary Lattimore (harp); Samara Lubelski (violin); Joey Waronker (percussion); Beck.
Audio Mixer: Darrell Thorp.
Recording information: Flowers & Cream, Northampton, MA (07/2010); The Library (07/2010); Flowers & Cream, Northampton, MA (2010-10-??_2010-11-??&2011-); The Library (2010-10-??_2010-11-??&2011-).
Photographer: George Moore .
Arranger: Beck Hansen.
Produced by Beck, Thurston Moore's fourth album finds the Sonic Youth guitarist collaborating with harpist Mary Lattimore and violinist Samara Lubelski. Bassist Bram Inscore and drummer Joey Waronker also appear, making guest appearances on several of the nine tracks.
Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (p.76) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "On 'Circulation,' Moore brings front-porch thunder in an ode to playing old records..."
Spin (p.102) - "Awash in sparkling guitars and the occasional odd sound effect, DEMOLISHED THOUGHTS is a noisenik's idea of California dreaming..."
Magnet (p.37) - Ranked #18 in Magnet's '20 Best Albums Of 2011' -- "[A] gossamer, almost incorporeal sigh of an LP from an underground iconoclast....THOUGHTS is never anything less than ethereal."
The Wire (p.51) - "The wall of urgently strummed, shifting chords that opens 'Orchard Street', and the shimmering, dissonant climax of 'Blood Never Lies' are brilliant acoustic extensions of Sonic Youth's density and intensity."
Paste (magazine) - "Beck produces, and he's in full MUTATIONS mode, creating a warm backdrop for Moore's strummy laments."
Clash (magazine) - "The arrangements are often complex...with improvisation within the melodies and a lyrical depth that is beyond pure contemplation or imagination."
Record Collector (magazine) (p.92) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[The album] finds longtime SY acolyte Beck at the production desk -- and a stunningly impressionistic approach he takes too....This is a sumptuous record..."
Uncut (magazine) (p.33) - Ranked #23 in Uncut's '50 Best Albums Of 2011' -- "[DEMOLISHED THOUGHTS] posited another way forward for Moore, recasting his signature sound in appealing folksinger garb."
